Ben Grimm

The Thing
Artwork for the cover of The Thing vol. 3, 1 (Jan, 2006). Art by Andrea Di Vito.
Publication information
Publisher	Marvel Comics
First appearance	The Fantastic Four #1 (November 1961)
Created by	Stan Lee (writer) Jack Kirby (artist)
In-story information
Alter ego	Benjamin Jacob "Ben" Grimm
Species	Human Mutate
Team affiliations	Future Foundation Fantastic Four UCWF West Coast Avengers Thunderiders Yancy Street Gang Avengers West Coast New Avengers Guardians of the Galaxy The Worthy
Notable aliases	Blackbeard the Pirate, Angrir: Breaker of Souls, Dr. Josiah Verpoorteen, El Morrito
Abilities	Skilled street fighter and hand to hand combatant Superhuman strength, stamina and durability Rock-like skin Excellent dexterity Above-average reflexes Enhanced lung capacity

The Thing (Benjamin "Ben" Grimm) is a fictional superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character is a founding member of the Fantastic Four. The character is known for his trademark rocky orange appearance, sense of humor, blue eyes, and famous battle cry, "It's clobberin' time!". The Thing's speech patterns are loosely based on those of Jimmy Durante.

Actor Michael Bailey Smith played Ben Grimm in The Fantastic Four film from 1994, Michael Chiklis portrayed the Thing in the 2005 film Fantastic Four and its 2007 sequel Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer, while Jamie Bell acted the part in Fantastic Four (2015).

In 2011, IGN ranked the Thing 18th in the "Top 100 Comic Book Heroes", and 23rd in their list of "The Top 50 Avengers" in 2012. The Thing was named Empire magazine's tenth of "The 50 Greatest Comic Book Characters" in 2008.

Created by writer-editor Stan Lee and artist/co-plotter Jack Kirby, the character first appeared in The Fantastic Four #1 (Nov. 1961).

In addition to appearing in the Fantastic Four, the Thing has been the star of Marvel Two-in-One, Strange Tales (with his fellow Fantastic Four member the Human Torch), and two incarnations of his own eponymous series, as well as numerous miniseries and one-shots.